Networking technology remains at the core of enabling the exchange of data between connected devices, which are becoming more prevalent every day. Many of today's connected devices employ radio technologies that allow for mobile devices to exchange data wirelessly. Internet of Things (IoT) service providers, wireless carriers, and other such service providing entities, all rely on networking technologies to make their systems function.
Despite some recent innovations, existing technology has its limitations. For example, subscribers of telephony services still experience poor radio coverage in particular (e.g., geographically remote, indoor, etc.) locations. As another example, IoT technology can be somewhat cumbersome for users in terms of accessing IoT services from remote locations.
Furthermore, radio technologies are constantly evolving, which creates further challenges. For example, with regards to cellular-based radio technologies, fourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) is evolving to fifth generation (5G), much like 4G evolved from its predecessor third generation (3G), and second generation (2G) radio technologies. Typically, when a new radio technology emerges, fielded units cannot be easily repurposed to support the new radio technology. Instead, a complete redesign is often required in terms of both hardware and software in order to manufacture communication devices that are compatible with a new radio technology. In addition, when a new radio technology emerges, device manufacturers typically must wait for a standard that defines the new radio technology to be ratified before designing, testing, and manufacturing a new hardware radio platform and a corresponding software build. This often results in a significant time lag between the ratification of a standard and products with the latest radio technology hitting the market. Some device manufacturers even take extra measures to stay competitive, such as beginning early development on device hardware while standards meetings are taking place. These companies risk losing a significant investment by developing hardware platforms well in advance of a standard's ratification, not knowing for sure if a standard will end up how they think it will.
Another drawback of existing technology is that bootloaders of connected devices often come either fully locked or fully unlocked (or unlockable). A fully locked bootloader prevents a developer from using the device as a developer device (e.g., flashing of custom firmware and/or software on the device). This is undesirable in view of today's technology development ecosystem, which includes a large developer community that innovates by developing new technologies (e.g., flashing custom software and/or custom firmware) for off-the-shelf communication devices, oftentimes in cooperation with a wireless carrier and/or device manufacturer. On the other hand, a fully unlocked (or unlockable) bootloader is undesirable because end users (including developers) are given unfettered access to any and all secure areas of the device, and a device manufacturer and/or carrier may want to restrict some areas from developer access in order to maintain proper (e.g., lawful) functionality of the device.